///M Track day

[mwlmd]

I had the opportunity today to run all of the current M offerings on an auto cross track back to back. My impressions were that the M3 and M4 are very nimble and fun to toss around tight corners, while the M5 competition package with ceramic brakes and the M6 grand coupe also competition package with ceramic brakes were much less nimble but sounded amazing. Obviously the creature comforts in the five and six class are superior to the three and four however from a track perspective the three and four seemed perfect. At the end of the track day we did a few hot laps with professional drivers which included an M3 which I was in following and M6 gran coupe competition package, and the M3 was glued to the M6s rear bumper through the entire track. There was a small amount of time on the straightaways when the M6 pulled away a bit but was reeled in in the corners.

I also took the 760Li around the track. Pretty impressive for a limo!!

[RPiM5]

Wow! Where was this? How big was the track?

[Seanmag]

Great write-up, thanks for sharing! What a great opportunity to drive these M's back to back to for comparison.

BMW NA offered this last week (9/17) in the Seattle area at Pacific Raceways. The email to me only provided five days notice and coincided w/ a 10 year wedding anniversary. My wife was surprised I didn't go...

[PhilT3]

No surprise here.

The 5 and 6 are large luxury vehicles with sporty characteristics.

The 3 and 4 are much smaller, less amenities and far lighter.

The 5 and 6 have no business on a track... IMO.

[mwlmd]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

Wow! Where was this? How big was the track?

Portland International Raceway. 2.1mi track. The auto cross set up was in the paddock with cones. Short but an absolute blast.

[soooma]

Nice write up

[JetBee]

A friend of mine went there yesterday! was so jealous

I used to live in Oregon, moved to Cali recently.

[shahano]

hmmm.. Change M5 for an M3??? Decisions decisions.

[AGS]

I had a chance to take an M4 for a test drive last week, and agree with your commentary on the M3/4 versus the M5/6. Fun, lightweight car that you can really toss around. One thing disappointed me though, and I wonder if you noticed it too? The day I took the test drive the temp was in the mid-70s and it was nice and sunny. Almost optimal conditions for a test drive, maybe a little higher temp would have helped the rear tires be a bit stickier. However I found the M4, under 75% to full throttle acceleration, couldn't put the power down without the nannies kicking in. For the first part of the drive I had the full nannies on until I got a feel for the car, and I found the throttle constantly cutting out on the upshifts when shifting into second and third. Even when I switched to MDM mode the nannies would kick in, although not as pronounced. After a while I got the feel for how much to lift off the throttle on the upshift before squeezing the power back on as the RPMs rose, but the car did not feel nearly as quick. The M engineers designed a similar torque curve to the M5 that plateaus from 1,800 RPM to 5,500 RPM, but I feel like the power in the M4, given how light it is, would be more usable if the torque ramped up a bit more slowly.

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by mwlmd

Portland International Raceway. 2.1mi track. The auto cross set up was in the paddock with cones. Short but an absolute blast.

That's a very good length of track for an autocross. Looked awesome! Yeah I bet you could really feel the difference in the weight in the M3/M4. Thanks for sharing man.

Oh also you mentioned about the 760Li. Imagine when the next generation 7-Series comes out soon and it's about 300lbs lighter! Or when the new ///M7 comes out.

[chong0]

Originally Posted by PhilT3

No surprise here.

The 5 and 6 are large luxury vehicles with sporty characteristics.

The 3 and 4 are much smaller, less amenities and far lighter.

The 5 and 6 have no business on a track... IMO.

agree that the 5 and 6 do not belong on an autocross track, but the 5 and 6 would be fine on a full track. aside from the obvious weight issues if you find a track that has long straights you can certainly get the m5 going

[Ex_Stig]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

That's a very good length of track for an autocross. Looked awesome! Yeah I bet you could really feel the difference in the weight in the M3/M4. Thanks for sharing man.

Oh also you mentioned about the 760Li. Imagine when the next generation 7-Series comes out soon and it's about 300lbs lighter! Or when the new ///M7 comes out.

I think he is saying that, while the track is 2.1 miles long, the autocross was set up in the paddock, not on the track.

[mwlmd]

Originally Posted by AGS

I had a chance to take an M4 for a test drive last week, and agree with your commentary on the M3/4 versus the M5/6. Fun, lightweight car that you can really toss around. One thing disappointed me though, and I wonder if you noticed it too? The day I took the test drive the temp was in the mid-70s and it was nice and sunny. Almost optimal conditions for a test drive, maybe a little higher temp would have helped the rear tires be a bit stickier. However I found the M4, under 75% to full throttle acceleration, couldn't put the power down without the nannies kicking in. For the first part of the drive I had the full nannies on until I got a feel for the car, and I found the throttle constantly cutting out on the upshifts when shifting into second and third. Even when I switched to MDM mode the nannies would kick in, although not as pronounced. After a while I got the feel for how much to lift off the throttle on the upshift before squeezing the power back on as the RPMs rose, but the car did not feel nearly as quick. The M engineers designed a similar torque curve to the M5 that plateaus from 1,800 RPM to 5,500 RPM, but I feel like the power in the M4, given how light it is, would be more usable if the torque ramped up a bit more slowly.

I am by no means a prefessional track driver. However what I can say with regards to the nannies chiming in most likely has to do with road conditions and driver input.

When I did the hot laps with the professional driver in the M3, he was so smooth with turn in, throttle application etc that he had crazy fast entrance and exit speeds with no traction loss. However when an amateur (like myself) is less smooth with the throttle and braking (more jabbing...) the handling dynamics change dramatically. I know there is skill and art to smooth fast tracking. These M cars (unlike the non turbo M cars of yore) have so much low end torque that you really have to be super smooth with the throttle to maintain traction at the limits. That is my impression.

[mwlmd]

Originally Posted by GNALUZU

I think he is saying that, while the track is 2.1 miles long, the autocross was set up in the paddock, not on the track.

This is correct. The full track is 2.1 miles. The autocross was in the paddock. VERY short but super fun. It allowed many many laps in all the different M cars.

I was also able to compare regular to CCB back to back. The CCBs are noticeable better under track conditions especially with repeated use (no surprise).

Are they $9k better for mostly street driving? Not if I am paying!


One other comparison I was able to make was back to back laps in a 650i vs a 650i xdrive on a wet track (it rained in the morning).

The RWD 650i was VERY loose in the tight turns resulting in serious nanny aids etc which is no surprise. The xdrive version felt very planted and required almost no special attention other than point and shoot.

Impressive, but for me less "fun."

[AGS]

Originally Posted by mwlmd

I am by no means a prefessional track driver. However what I can say with regards to the nannies chiming in most likely has to do with road conditions and driver input.

When I did the hot laps with the professional driver in the M3, he was so smooth with turn in, throttle application etc that he had crazy fast entrance and exit speeds with no traction loss. However when an amateur (like myself) is less smooth with the throttle and braking (more jabbing...) the handling dynamics change dramatically. I know there is skill and art to smooth fast tracking. These M cars (unlike the non turbo M cars of yore) have so much low end torque that you really have to be super smooth with the throttle to maintain traction at the limits. That is my impression.

Yeah, as I think about it more I guess part of issue could have been the asphalt condition of the roads I was on. I was out in a rural area where heavy farm equipment regularly use the roads, so they are probably more polished from all that traffic. And like you, I'm by no means a professional race car driver either but have done enough track days to not be a compete novice. I was just a little disappointed in how much effort it took to accelerate briskly versus what I can do in my M5 over some of those same roads.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Nice!!

[Harold996tt]

Originally Posted by shahano

hmmm.. Change M5 for an M3??? Decisions decisions.

Depends how much time you spend at the track. I used to be a track day junkie and have run all the track biased cars till I am sick of them. I now realise I spend more time enjoying a cars civility on the road than I do its agility on the track. And the m5 is a great compromise that allows the occasional track session whilst still giving me a place to relax on my way home from a hard days work everyday. Guess this is showing my age...

[Harold996tt]

Originally Posted by mwlmd

I am by no means a prefessional track driver. However what I can say with regards to the nannies chiming in most likely has to do with road conditions and driver input.

When I did the hot laps with the professional driver in the M3, he was so smooth with turn in, throttle application etc that he had crazy fast entrance and exit speeds with no traction loss. However when an amateur (like myself) is less smooth with the throttle and braking (more jabbing...) the handling dynamics change dramatically. I know there is skill and art to smooth fast tracking. These M cars (unlike the non turbo M cars of yore) have so much low end torque that you really have to be super smooth with the throttle to maintain traction at the limits. That is my impression.

You are spot on but that applies to all cars not just na or turbo etc. Smoothness is the key to track driving. Exciting laps are rarely the fastest laps on the track.